4073 The Drum Beat, Issue 524, Communication and Change News and Issues, January 11 2010

The Drum Beat – Issue 524 – Communication and Change News and Issues
January 11 2010

Welcome to the first edition of The Communication Initiative (The CI) Network’s 12th year of publishing The Drum Beat. We look forward to supporting you to share, critique, and debate your thoughts, ideas, and initiatives in the year ahead.

The Drum Beat currently has 44,953 subscribers from all over the world. Over the past 12 months (January 1 2009 – December 31 2009), there were 3,008,060 user sessions across The CI network of websites – up more than 20% over those for 2008!

As one of your first actions of 2010, we’d be grateful if you’d share this issue of The Drum Beat with your staff and broader networks. Interested people can register and subscribe to this growing network at The CI website or by replying to drumbeat@comminit.com

Many thanks,
The CI

This issue includes:

* Selected summaries from our EXPERIENCES section.
* Got classifieds? Post them through DEVELOPMENT CLASSIFIEDS.
* Highlights from the EVALUATIONS section.
* How has The CI supported your work? TELL US!
* A few items from the STRATEGIC THINKING section.

From The Communication Initiative Network – where communication and media are central to social and economic development.

Subscribe to The Drum Beat: http://www.comminit.com/en/user/register
Access this issue online at http://www.comminit.com/en/drum_beat_524.html

This issue of The Drum Beat features a small selection of recent summaries available on The Communication Initiative website from 3 of our main knowledge sections – Experiences, Evaluations, and Strategic Thinking. These summaries illustrate just some of the ways communication and media are contributing to positive development action, around the world.

Please send additional project, evaluation, strategic thinking, and materials information on communication for development at any time. Contact Deborah Heimann at dheimann@comminit.com

EXPERIENCES
http://www.comminit.com/en/experiences.html

1.      Criola – Brazil
Through programmes that confront racism, sexism, and homophobia, Criola seeks to create opportunities for black women to become «players in the creation of a society based on justice, solidarity and equality». Led by black women of different backgrounds, Criola’s main lines of action include: black women’s health; economic development; human rights; political action and dialogue; and dissemination of information and publications. For example, Criola’s Dialogues on Feminism are administered by community organisers from a variety of social movements. All topics in the monthly debates are approached from a black woman’s point of view and seek to forge collaboration of both women and men on issues related to black women’s living conditions.
Contact: criola@criola.org.br
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/133180

2.      European Immunization Week (EIW) – Europe
Each year since 2006, the World Health Organization (WHO) has dedicated one week in April to raising awareness about the importance of immunisation as a public health strategy in Europe. [2010 EIW dates: April 24 – May 1]. Each year, EIW draws on a variety of in-person and virtual connection spaces for sharing information and generating support for vaccination. For the 2009 EIW, WHO leveraged internet-based viral techniques and social media to advocate for immunisation: an animated YouTube video aims to spread the EIW message by word-of-mouth (virally) online as well as drive traffic to an informational website. Social networking sites Facebook, BKontakte, and Studivz are used to reinforce the message.
Contact: vaccine@euro.who.int OR Dr. Rebecca Martin RMA@euro.who.int
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/290524/292

3.      MADaboutART – South Africa
Working with children as young as 3 years of age, MADaboutART uses a mix of arts-based education and narrative therapy in an effort to: increase South African children’s knowledge of HIV and AIDS, create more open communication on the issue, and reduce risk-taking behaviour by increasing self-esteem and self-advocacy. MADaboutART established an art and education centre in Nekkies, a township outside Knysna in the Western Cape, where it runs after-school clubs, life skills programmes, peer education, and community activities. As part of one activity, young people create a hero book in which they become the hero of their lives by recognising and applying practical skills to overcome problems.
Contact: info@madaboutart.org
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/134660/347

4.      Construction Sector Transparency Initiative – CoST – Global
Supported by the United Kingdom (UK) Department for International Development (DFID) and the World Bank, CoST is an international multi-stakeholder initiative designed to increase transparency and accountability in the construction sector. It is being piloted in 7 countries over a two-and-a-half-year period. In an attempt to enable stakeholders to make informed judgments about the cost and quality of the infrastructure concerned, CoST works to regularly disclose project information to a wide audience in a publicly accessible, comprehensive, and comprehensible manner. The core CoST concept is «get what you pay for» – the «you» being national governments, affected stakeholders, and the wider public.
Contact: costsecretariat@uk.pwc.com
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/301244/348

5.      Southern Sudan Interactive Radio Instruction (SSIRI)
The SSIRI programme aims to design, develop, and pilot-test appropriate and cost-effective technologies that provide learning opportunities for children, adults, and teachers in southern Sudan. Any school with a radio can receive and use the lessons, broadcast daily on Sudanese national radio; however, the project is focusing on 200 schools in 8 counties, providing supplies, training, and assessment. SSIRI employs a team of 18 Southern Sudanese educators, scriptwriters, actors, and production staff to develop 100 half-hour programmes for each grade level (grades 1-3). The lessons use a combination of games, songs, and stories to teach English literacy, native language literacy, and mathematics. SSIRI aims to reach very remote areas where educational materials are unavailable.
Contact: Richard Trewby rtrewby@edc.org OR Kent Noel knoel@edc.org
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/134510/303

6.      Pakistan Initiative for Mothers and Newborns (PAIMAN)
This maternal and newborn project is working to reach 12 million people in 10 predominantly rural districts of Pakistan through a variety of approaches and media channels, including training 10,000 lady health workers and partnering with 32 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) at the grassroots level. PAIMAN’s evidence-based communication, advocacy, and mobilisation strategy involves promoting access to skilled birth attendants and positioning community midwives as the focal point for obstetric care. The project works at all 4 levels (community, primary health care facilities, secondary [referral] facilities, and tertiary care facilities) to strengthen local capacity and improve access of, and access to, high-quality maternal and neonatal services.
Contact: info@jsi.org.pk
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/298280/303

7.      Outta Road – Jamaica
The entertainment-education (EE) initiative «Outta Road» («What’s Happening out in the Streets») centred around 155 episodes of a radio serial drama that aired nationwide from March 2007 to March 2008 and then from November 2007 to July 2008. It addressed issues such as HIV/AIDS, adolescent sexual and reproductive health, violence prevention, and substance abuse prevention. Designed for 10-19 year olds across Jamaica, the messages in Outta Road were reinforced by flyers, pamphlets, handbooks, and good parenting calendars. Youth listened to the programmes in a classroom setting and were also given CDs to bring home to listen to and share with their friends. Guidance counsellors used the programme as a stimulus for discussion about difficult and highly sensitive issues.
Contact: Katie Elmore elmore@populationmedia.org
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/301281/347

DEVELOPMENT CLASSIFIEDS

Promote your jobs, RFPs, events, trainings, publications, and consultancy services through the Development Classifieds!
http://www.comminit.com/en/classifieds

Development Classifieds is an initiative of The Communication Initiative which includes listings of any development-related jobs, consultants, requests for proposals (RFPs), events, training opportunities, and books, journals, or videos for sale.

The next issue (first one in 2010!) of the Development Classifieds E-magazine will be published January 20 2010.

Please submit open vacancies, event information, training opportunities, upcoming RFPs, details about your consultancy skills, and information about books, journals, or videos for sale as soon as possible to ensure inclusion. See http://www.comminit.com/en/classifieds and contact jsavidge@comminit.com for more information.

EVALUATIONS
http://www.comminit.com/en/evaluations.html

8.      Amor Youth Clinic Network in Estonia
From WHO, this December 2009 report explores the process of setting up a network of youth-friendly, free-of-charge sexual and reproductive health clinics in Estonia. Lessons learned and selected results of evaluations conducted from 2002 to 2006 are offered. For example, from 2003 to the end of 2006, 1,280 young people gave feedback online, of whom 95% rated the activities of the clinic as «good» or «very good». They reported being satisfied with the clinic staff members – in particular, with their personal traits (friendliness, readiness to help, empathy), professionalism (ability to communicate, advise, and explain) and their attitudes towards young people (tolerant, nonjudgmental).
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/308223/347

9.      Outcome Mapping: a Realistic Alternative for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
by Harry Jones and Simon Hearn
This January 2009 Overseas Development Institute (ODI) paper explores Outcome Mapping (OM), an approach to planning, monitoring, and evaluating social change initiatives developed by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). The paper reviews OM principles, details where ODI research found that OM works best, and describes suitable contexts and purposes for assessing on a case-by-case basis whether OM will add value. It intends to guide donors considering support for projects using OM, and other decision-makers seeking methods to improve the effectiveness of aid policies and practice.
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/306114

10.     Entertainment-Education and Rice Pest Management: A Radio Soap Opera in Vietnam
by K.L. Heong, M.M. Escalada, N.H. Huan, V.H. Ky Ba, P.V. Quynh, L.V. Thiet, and H.V. Chien
This October 2008 report explores radio drama as a platform for rapidly reaching millions of farmers with resource management information. A total of 104 episodes of «Chuyen Que Minh» were broadcast between July 2004 and July 2005 over the Voice of Ho Chi Minh City and Voice of Vinh Long. The evaluators found that the drama contributed positively to changes in farmers’ beliefs and practices related to managing pests, fertilisers, and seeds. «The participatory process used in developing the soap opera serial involving technical experts and script writers served as a facilitating platform in the distillation of scientific information that was seamlessly built into drama conversations to educate, entertain and motivate listeners.» Furthermore, «[t]he radio clubs established in the villages became primary sources to provide technical support, advice and discussions. The launching day, drama advertising, radio quizzes and ‘meet-the-actors’ day were also important in popularizing !
the drama.»
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/300520/306

11.     Third Annual/Midterm Evaluation Report: The Salvation Army/Zambia Chikankata Child Survival Project
by Richard Crespo, PhD
This October 31 2008 report shares the results of a midterm evaluation (MTE) of the Chikankata Child Survival Project (CCSP), which aims to reduce maternal and under-5 child mortality in the Mazabuka and Siavonga Districts of Zambia’s Southern Province. CCSP’s central strategy is the Care Group model, whereby every household with women of reproductive age is visited monthly by community health volunteers who «act as early adopters of new health behaviors and model these to their neighbors.» Project messages are put to song and taught to volunteers, who then use them during home visits and community events. Also, 20 pilot men’s groups were developed; members disseminate health messages to other men within and outside their church. Overall, at the MTE, CCSP was found to have surpassed the end of project targets for the proportion of children 0-23 months who sleep under an insecticide-treated net (ITN) and pregnant women who sleep under an ITN, the proportion of children 12-23 months who are fully vaccinated, and the percent of mothers of children 0-23 whose birth was attended by trained personnel and who had at least one postpartum check-up. In each of these indicators the MTE percentages increased significantly and in some cases even doubled.
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/300493/303

CONTRIBUTE YOUR STORY!

Through CI Stories, we are seeking stories of how members of The CI Network have used The CI to support their work, connect with others in the network, and/or highlight their work with demonstrated positive impact on their organisation or work.

For example, this story from South Africa: «Last year, through its presence in the Drum beat publication, the CICI [Creative Inner City Initiative] was approached by a Singapore organisation called Artventure. The application we submitted to them was successful. This enabled us to run a wonderful silkscreen training programme with Acai berry business skills and arts development for 26 adults who became self-employed and confident about life and their futures.»

To read additional CI Stories, see http://www.comminit.com/en/cistories

If you have experiences or anecdotes on how we have made a difference to your work, please tell us your story! Go to:http://www.comminit.com/en/node/add/cistories (NOTE: you must be a registered, logged in user to submit a story).

STRATEGIC THINKING
http://www.comminit.com/en/thinking.html

12.     Multilingual Education: Indian Folklife: Series No. 32
by Dr. Mahendra Kumar Mishra
This April 2009 issue of the quarterly newsletter of the National Folklore Support Centre is on the topic of multilingual education (MLE) in India, Nepal, Peru, and Hawai’i, United States. It includes articles on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as it applies to MLE, and strategies for education in language-diverse situations and in indigenous communities.
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/300050/303

13.     Thinking Systemically
by Bob Williams
Written within the context of international development, this September 2009 article sets out the case that systems thinking has the potential to help development workers better understand the factors that influence the abilities of people, organisations, and institutions to perform and to achieve desired outcomes. Bob Williams addresses some misunderstandings of what systems thinking consists of: «Just looking at the ‘bigger picture’ or exploring interconnections does not make an inquiry ‘systemic’. What makes it systemic is how you look at the picture, big or small, and explore interconnections.» Bob Williams stresses that learning how to think systemically is itself a matter of capacity development. He suggests asking: «do the notions of focusing on inter-relationships, perspectives and boundaries help you improve your own understanding of capacity development? If they do, then start there. If that is insufficient, then dive a little deeper…»
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/302316

14.     Communicating Change: Learning from Women’s Rights Activists’ Campaigns for Legal and Policy Change
by Alexandra Pittman and Anna Workman
This February 26 2009 report analyses activists’ experiences in communicating change for women’s equal rights. Seventy women’s rights campaigns that intended to achieve either legislative or policy change at the local, national, or international levels were studied. The report is organised around 3 major topics: i) communicating goals of legislative and policy reform in the public sphere, with particular attention to the way that activists have «framed» and communicated social, political, legal, and economic issues in order to improve women’s rights; ii) how framing differs in 3 major campaign themes: economic rights and autonomy, health and violence against women, and political participation and human rights frameworks; and iii) lessons learned from activists’ experiences and resources for further campaign development.
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/300488/348

15.     Strengthening the Voices of Women Leaders: Lessons from Cambodia
This February 2008 paper from the Oxfam GB publication «Learning for Action on Women’s Leadership and Participation» explores Women For Prosperity (WFP), an NGO launched in July 1994 to help women councillors in Cambodia challenge discrimination, forge positive working relationships with their colleagues, and fulfil their responsibilities as elected officials. The paper describes the strategies WFP has developed to ensure that economically poor, rural women have opportunities to participate in decision-making so that local development plans reflect their priorities. These strategies include leadership training, advocacy, lobbying, media campaigns, and awareness-raising with government officials, policy makers, and the general public.
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/297578/348

The Drum Beat is the email and web network of The Communication Initiative Partnership – ANDI, BBC World Service Trust, Bernard van Leer Foundation, Calandria, CFSC Consortium, CIDA, DFID, FAO, Fundación Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano, Ford Foundation, Healthlink Worldwide, Inter-American Development Bank, International Institute for Communication and Development, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs, MISA, PAHO, The Panos Institute, The Rockefeller Foundation, SAfAIDS, Sesame Workshop, Soul City, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNICEF, USAID, WHO, W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Chair of the Partners Group: Garth Japhet, Founder, Soul City garth@heartlines.org.za
Executive Director: Warren Feek wfeek@comminit.com

The Editor of The Drum Beat is Kier Olsen DeVries.

Please send material for The Drum Beat to The CI’s Editorial Director – Deborah Heimann dheimann@comminit.com

The Drum Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for development activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement or support by The Partners.